TUESDAY 29 OCTOBER 2002

MR DAVID ROBINSON, MR JOSEPH HUGHES, MR GORDON NEWELL AND MR ROBERT IRVINE

  120. This is instructions in the use of firearms.
  (Mr Robinson) This is in the proposed draft Order.

  121. Yes.
  (Mr Robinson) That is to be allowed under the 1918 order. As we stand here in Northern Ireland if you were to walk into my shop and ask me to sell you a shotgun I would take one out of my armoury, hand it to you and both of us have just committed an offence under the 1981 Order. That is there to allow a dealer to hand a perspective customer a gun and to carry out the proposed test.

  122. Look at page 40 of the draft firearm order and then look at paragraph 12 of Schedule 1, "A person may without holding a firearm certificate have in his possession a firearm and ammunition while undergoing instruction in the use of firearms..."
  (Mr Robinson) "...from the holder of a firearms certificate or an employee of his or a person authorised by the Chief Constable".

  123. So you are not committing an offence.
  (Mr Robinson) With the new order. This is only for the purpose of instructing and making the competency requirements of the new order.

  124. Right. It is an improvement but not enough.
  (Mr Robinson) It is not an improvement at all. It is doing away with illegal inconsistency at the moment. This actually happens at the moment, if you come into my shop to pick up your shotgun I will say to you, "Mr Mates, this is a 12 guage shotgun, this is how you load it, this is how you unload it", and go through a few safety aspects with you. At the moment in Northern Ireland once I put that gun in your hand, it happens everyday, it is not an enforced law, all that is doing is tidying that up.

  Chairman: Thank you very much indeed.